Brent Mead, a Mason City, IA native, is an enthusiastic performer, educator, and supporter of music living in the Kansas City area. During his career, Brent has enjoyed serving his community in several performing and educational roles. He joined the Wichita Symphony as principal trombone in 2018. He is a member of the Crossroads Trombone Quartet and Tone Forge Trombone Quartet. He has performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, Sunflower Music Festival Orchestra, Ad Astra Music Festival Orchestra, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Fountain City Brass Band, and many other ensembles. He has performed at the International Trombone Festival, Big 12 Trombone Conference, and Missouri Music Educators Conference.

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     Brent is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Kansas where he is the trombone studio graduate teaching assistant. Duties include teaching trombone lessons (major, minor, and non-major) and co-teaching the trombone studio and trombone choir classes. He has assisted the theory department as a grader, and served the KU band program as music librarian as well. Brent plans to be ABD in Spring 2027.

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     Brent is also passionate about education and enjoys volunteering his time at schools to share his love of music. In 2021, Brent joined the faculty at MidAmerica Nazarene University as an adjunct professor where he teaches applied low brass lessons, music history, introduction to music theory, and aural skills courses. Every summer, Brent volunteers with the Kansas City Trombone Workshop, teaching middle school and high school students in a weekly trombone choir and leading chamber music groups. He has also taught chamber music at University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and low brass lessons at Ottawa University. Outside of the university setting, Brent has served as a sectional coach for local youth symphonies, school districts, and New Horizons Band.

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     Brent created an educational program of new works for solo trombone and fixed media designed around the struggles of life in 2022. This program, Stories, discusses topics like failure, jealousy, abuse, anxiety, and uncertainty of the future with the hopes of normalizing the sharing of our struggles. As a part of this program, five new pieces were commissioned by Anne Guzzo, Chris Evan Hass, Molly Joyce, Logan Jungman, and Ian Lester. 

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     During his master’s degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Brent was a member of the Volker Brass Quintet who won the 2019 American Brass Quintet Brass Prize and was a semifinalist at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. In addition to their success at Fischoff, Volker finished in 3rd place at the 2018 MTNA National Chamber Music Competition and was a national finalist in several other competitions as well.